Vacuum Tubes & Solar Water Heating

Evacuated (vacuum) Tube solar panels are a popular option in Ireland due to their ability to operate efficiently in the colder and duller days we experience during the Winter here.
Although their flat plate collector cousins may produce more heat on a sunny day, vacuum tubes will produce heat over a wider spread of the season giving more heat to your water in the Winter. It is worth noting however that both Flat plate and Evacuated tube solar panel systems can be designed to give you the same amount of overall energy throughout the year so don’t be fooled by the “evacuated tube systems are more efficient argument” when deciding on which system to install – the energy yield of the system for the money you pay is the key decider, not the efficiency.

Until recently, evacuated tube solar panels have been too expensive for many people to consider. However, the Chinese have been producing evacuated tubes for their domestic market for many years and have a very mature evacuated tube industry, we believe they have perfected this technology and even improved on many aspects of the design.

Becasue of this many European manufacturers import Chinese (or Indian) evacuated tubes and re-brand them under their own name. We prefer to be honest and pass on the savings from this low-cost manufacturing base to provide economical and worthwhile solutions for solar water heating.

Technical details

Data sheet on our 58mm evacuated tube solar panel

Prices

How much does it cost to install Solar Panels in your home? See here: Vacuum tube installation prices
For supply only prices see our Full price list

More Information

A 2m² panel will provide sufficient hot water for a small family (2-3 users), and is best matched to a small water tank (no more than 175 litre). We also offer a 3m² panel and either of these can be interconnected to make any size of panel providing economical hot water for houses, factories, hotels, swimming pools or any other application that requires hot water (see our page on designing your system by clicking here)

Solar heating is available to every house in Ireland! Every house should have one -really!

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
kWh/m2 day	0.56	1.07	1.97	3.32	4.40	4.30	4.30	3.40	2.69	1.43	0.77	0.43
30 tube panel	0.79	1.50	2.76	4.66	6.17	6.03	6.03	4.77	3.77	2.00	1.08	0.60

The table shows NASA figures for the average solar heat arriving in Ireland per day per square meter. Surprisingly, this is about 60% of that received at the equator. The total cost saving per year is €151 for a panel which after the grant will cost you just €355. Many vendors quote a payback time based on this figure, which is a bit cheeky. Depending on your installation, there will be other costs, such as a pump, controller and installation costs. Also, we have factored in to these figures efficiency which falls off as the water tank heats up.

In a new house installing a solar water heater is a no-brainer. In a retrofit, it really depends on how easy it is to get into the loft space etc., but you will still save money. But no money would pay for the pleasure of knowing that your bath water was heated by sunlight rather than oil, gas or electricity, none of which in the long run are coming down in price!